After Ford Exits Brazil and Halts Car Production in Bahia, Camaçari Faces Factory ‘Breakdown’ and 7,500 People Expected to Lose Their Jobs

Ford’s Direct Suppliers in Bahia Do Not Believe in the Arrival of Another Manufacturer and Are Already Working on Dismantling Their Factories

After the announcement by the American multinational Ford to leave Brazil and halt car production in Camaçari, Bahia, auto parts companies located in the city are already working on dismantling their factories, and about 7,500 people are expected to lose their jobs in the city. Want to work and live abroad? Canada Recruits Brazilians to Fill Over 1.2 Million Job Openings.

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The issue is that the direct suppliers of the American multinational do not believe in the arrival of another manufacturer to replace the automaker in the short term and are focused on stopping immediate losses, such as personnel costs and warehouse rentals. These companies are also negotiating with Ford for a solution to the backlog of products and supplies.

Some auto parts manufacturers are already rushing to sell their machinery, including robots, air compressors, and state-of-the-art water coolers, all productive capital accumulated over two decades. Most of the supply chain arrived in the region along with Ford in 2001.

So far, the automotive industry in Bahia has been limited to Ford’s activities; dismantling is emerging as the fate of the sector’s business in the State. Larger groups or those with more stages of production in other regions, however, have more stamina to withstand the end of local demand.

According to the National Syndicate of the Automotive Vehicle Components Industry (Sindipeças), the biggest suppliers of Ford, known as “tier 1”, which directly supply the automaker, total 30 companies with 32 factories or logistics centers in Camaçari, Bahia. Of this total, 18 are located within Ford’s complex.

The other 12 factories in different parts of the city are almost all subsidiaries of global groups, such as the German companies Bosch (spark plugs) and Benteler (drivetrain and suspension), the Italian Pirelli (tires), the Portuguese Sodecia (body parts), and the French Faurecia (exhaust systems and plastic parts).

7,500 People Expected to Lose Their Jobs in Camaçari – Bahia

These manufacturers employed over 3,000 direct workers in Camaçari, Bahia. This number is not far from the 4,050 direct employees at the Ford factory. Combined, these totals indicate that around 7,500 people are expected to lose their jobs in the city.

The superintendent of the Federation of Industries of Bahia (Fieb), Vladson Menezes, states that these positions represent about 4% of industrial jobs in Bahia. Data from the Monthly Industrial Survey (PIA-IBGE) shows that in 2018, Ford and its suppliers had 8,630 direct employees. The shrinking reflects the decline in the automaker’s market share in Brazil.